[Bug]: getPermissionStates causes app crash

[zovi-code]

Capacitor Version

Latest Dependencies:

@capacitor/cli: 8.2.0
@capacitor/core: 8.2.0
@capacitor/android: 8.2.0
@capacitor/ios: 8.2.0

Installed Dependencies:

@capacitor/cli: 8.0.1
@capacitor/core: 8.2.0
@capacitor/android: 8.2.0
@capacitor/ios: 8.2.0

[success] iOS looking great! 👌
[success] Android looking great! 👌

Other API Details

npm --version: 10.9.2
node --version: v23.11.0

Platforms Affected

• iOS
• Android
• Web

Current Behavior

Production problem

I've released the app on the Play Store month ago and it has ~150 downloads and ~80 uninstall events. Reason for every uninstall event is the application crash that happens due to crash from the attached image. I got two reviews with ratings 1 that reported crash.

JS code

 try {
    const permStatus = await FirebaseMessaging.checkPermissions();
    // Logic for storing `permStatus.receive` in react state...
  } catch {}

Expected Behavior

I'd expect it not to crash 😅

Project Reproduction

Capcrash repository

Additional Information

This happens on some Android devices and on other it works. Crash rate is ~50%.
From Crashlytics, the most recent problematic devices are: Galaxy A15 (Android 16), Galaxy S25+ (Android 16), Galaxy A22 5G (Android 13).

I used @capacitor/push-notifications and this crash was happening. After that I completely refactored my code to use @capacitor-firebase/messaging and exact same thing is happening.

I wrote to support and Robin Genz responded me with this:

This is a bug in Capacitor Core/Android. Please install the latest Capacitor Core and Android version and check if it’s still an issue there. If it’s still an issue, please create a bug report in https://github.com/ionic-team/capacitor.

I have following packages installed as well:

"@capacitor-community/safe-area": "^8.0.1",
"@capacitor-firebase/authentication": "^8.1.0",
"@capacitor-firebase/crashlytics": "^8.1.0",
"@capacitor-firebase/messaging": "^8.1.0",
"@capacitor/app": "^8.0.1",
"@capacitor/preferences": "^8.0.1",
"@capacitor/splash-screen": "^8.0.1",
"@capgo/capacitor-app-tracking-transparency": "^8.1.5",

[jcesarmobile]

The crash comes from firebase messaging plugin, so you should contact Robin again

[zovi-code]

@jcesarmobile In case you haven't read complete report, I wrote this as well :)

I used @capacitor/push-notifications and this crash was happening. After that I completely refactored my code to use @capacitor-firebase/messaging and exact same thing is happening.

[jcesarmobile]

In that case you should report it in https://github.com/ionic-team/capacitor-plugins

Still, if you won't provide a sample app, there isn't much we can do and will end up closed too.

[zovi-code]

@jcesarmobile Thanks for the feedback. I wrote back to Robin again. I will create a sample app and add it during the day.
But again.. it happens on specific devices..

[robingenz]

@jcesarmobile The crash is triggered by the Firebase Messaging plugin calling checkPermissions, but the root cause seems to be in the Capacitor Android core. Bridge.getPermissionStates() doesn't null-check getPluginAnnotation() before iterating over its permissions, even though the same null check is already implemented in Plugin.isPermissionDeclared() (see here). I submitted a fix in #8400. Let me know if I'm wrong or if you want me to update the PR.

EDIT: Just saw your comment.

@zovi-code It would be great if you could install this patch in your app to verify the fix.

[zovi-code]

@robingenz MAN, I LOVE YOU.

I was literally almost crying over this issue as I was helpless for over a month.
If this is a real fix, please provide me with how I can contribute to you as a sign of gratitude.

Regarding installing patch, its a little complex to verify it that way as I need to push it to production and wait for it to happen. On my 5 android devices it could never be reproduced but in production it sometimes happens and I see it in Crashlytics.

Love you!

[zovi-code]

@jcesarmobile @robingenz

Here's minimal reproducible example

EDIT: In the meantime, just in last 5 hours I can see the result from the image. And I added crashlytics to the project just today.

[ionitron-bot]

Thanks for the issue! This issue is being locked to prevent comments that are not relevant to the original issue. If this is still an issue with the latest version of Capacitor, please create a new issue and ensure the template is fully filled out.